Cardiac arrest in a toddler treated with propranolol for infantile Hemangioma: a case report

BACKGROUND: Propranolol has become the first-line treatment for complicated Infantile Hemangioma (IH), showing so far a good risk-benefit profile. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a toddler, on propranolol, who suffered cardiac arrest during an acute viral infection. She had a neurally-mediated syncope that progressed to asystole, probably because of concurrent factors as dehydration, beta-blocking and probably individual susceptibility to vaso-vagal phenomena. In fact a significant history of breath-holding spells was consistent with vagal hyperactivity. CONCLUSIONS: The number of patients treated with propranolol for IHs will increase and sharing experience will help to better define the safety profile of this drug.